Prior Offenses
by Serenity2012
Summary: The attack on Abnegation never happened, and Tris and the rest of the Dauntless are preparing for Visiting Day. Will she see her parents again? What will they make of the changes in her life, especially her relationship with Four? Changed the title from MEET THE PARENTS
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Notes- There seems to be a growing number of Tris/Eric, Tris/Peter, Tris/? stories on this archive. Even though I am plugging away at Deciphering Divergent, I thought I could do something else to help restore the universe's natural balance. It's a plot line I've been considering for a while now and may continue, depending on the reviews.**

**I do not own Divergent.**

Transfer families swarmed the Pit. Tris was shoved rudely aside as one Candor woman ran towards her son, red-faced and sobbing. _You're not helping him,_ she wanted to say, but in a crowd this size, there was a chance that none of the other Dauntless noticed. The initiate, Lance, had already pulled away and was holding his mother at arm's length. His smile was kind, even as his eyes were warning. Tris moved on.

She walked nearer the chasm, ironically the safest place to be since it put her out of the way of the jostling, nervous crowd. It also improved her chances of being seen. Spray got on her arms, drew the heat out of her cheeks, and she wondered, idly, if the water got recycled somehow since all the lakes and tributaries that could have fed it dried up a long time ago.

She leaned farther over the railing.

"Beatrice!" a voice called in warning. She spun around just as her father was scrambling for her arm. As soon as he saw she was out of danger, he froze, taking in her appearance. It had been over a year since her Choosing. She was a high ranked member of the Dauntless community, but suddenly, she felt awkward in her black clothes, with the tattoos visible on her collar-bone.

"You're looking stronger again."

Tris slid her gaze from her father to her mother. Her tone was quiet, like a breeze rustling the curtains on a summer night, but for the first time, she thought about how it might also laugh and cheer and yell. "Yes, well… training never really ends here…."

Natalie smiled like she understood. The two of them had managed to send letters back and forth during the last couple of months. They never got too detailed, worried that some Erudite was reading the missives in route, but just holding something that her mother spent effort to write helped ease the guilt she still felt over leaving them. "So I was thinking we might get something to eat and then I can show you my apartment," she proposed. Her father's jaw clenched. "Only… only if you want to?"

She watched her mom reach down and gently squeeze her father's wrist. A reassurance or a reminder? "Lead on then," he said, gruffly.

As Tris navigated the narrow tunnels, she tried to remember what it looked like to a newcomer: the rocky walls sometimes chipped, and even the shirts in her closest were dusty. Coming into the cafeteria, light emanated from soft, blue globes and caught on nose-piercings and multi-colored ink on some members' specialty tattoos. A baby cried, so her brother snatched up a small dagger and waved it in front of her face like a mobile. Her father's stance only became more and more tense.

There were only a few empty tables left, with water- or more likely beer- rings stamped into the wood, so she choose the one closest to where she usually sat. A waitress stopped by with menus. Tris stared down the list of items, not really paying attention to them. Every few seconds, she glanced over her shoulder. _Come on, come on,_ she thought, with a tinge of desperation.

"Are we waiting on someone?" her mother asked, not unkindly.

Tris's teeth immediately clamped down on her lower lip, "Um…."

Just then a tall figure jogged up to them and dropped, gracefully, into the chair beside Tris. His hair was dark brown, almost black, and cut to a style that was unusual for the Dauntless. "I'm sorry I'm late. Eric wanted me to do something in the control room."

"And let me guess? This is the one time you were more than happy to help him out," she murmured under her breath. He looked at her, guiltily, before turning to confront her parents' curious expressions, "Hi, I'm-"

"Four, Beatrice's instructor. I remember," her mother stuck her hand out for him to shake. He did so uneasily.

"Yeah, about that day. I guess I was pretty rude…." Tobias pulled back to rub the back of his neck, inadvertently revealing the curling design etched there. Her mother's eyes seized it, but thankfully, her father was at the wrong angle to.

"Don't worry about it," she reassured. Not sure of what else to say, awkwardness settled over the group like ripples brushing the edges of a pool. Tris wasn't happy about the distance between her and Tobias; she had proven that she didn't belong in Candor on many occasions, but still, this felt like a lie…. She watched the staring contest between her father and Four. _Why do I even bother?_

"Sir?" Four asked, suddenly, without the usual deference the name implied.

"Who _are_ you?" Andrew demanded.

"Didn't you hear what Mom just said?" Tris hedged.

"That's who he _was_. Your instructor. I'm asking who he _is_ now, and what he's doing here," he asserted. Tris was surprised to find her general anxiousness was outlined with something else: relief. He had talked to her… proof that his icy exterior could melt, at least a little.

Four hesitated, probably unsure of how to phrase it, but then his expression firmed up. He reached down and grabbed Tris's hand, entangling their fingers. Her heart rate sped up, and she suddenly recalled the dog from her aptitude test, stalking her, its fangs hovering near her throat. "I... am a person who loves your daughter. And I'm here because she wanted me to meet the people who feel likewise."


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Notes- Wow, I didn't anticipate that kind of response! Thank you to everybody who reviewed and I'm sorry if I'm not the quickest updater. Between college prep, writing Deciphering Divergent, and problems with the power lines- well, it hasn't been easy. I hope nobody is too disappointed with chapter two!**

**I do not own Divergent.**

"I suspected as much," her mother said, laughing at Tris's expression. "And just for the record, I am happy for you." She held her hands in her lap and didn't seem disturbed by the wave after wave of raucous shouting from the bar. Beer cost half as much as usual today and it was obvious that some of the transfers with missing families were trying to drink themselves into oblivion. As she watched, one boy with scruffy dark hair named Nate slumped over on his stool.

She brought herself back to attention when her father's voice erupted in a whisper. "You _can't_ be serious, Natalie!" He flashed Tobias a hard look before returning to the conversation with his wife. "Beatrice is much too young to be in a relationship. Especially with one of these-" he waved his arm around, so that the dull metal of his wedding band caught the light, "_Dauntless hooligans_." Tris imagined that the lines around her mother's eyes tightened.

"You don't even know him," Tris protested. Her palms sweat, but bravery meant acting in the face of fear, or so she tried to remind herself.

He snorted. "I know enough."

"Andrew-"

Tris didn't give her mother a chance to finish. She was already on her feet, feeling like a large bird was throwing itself against her rib-cage. "How can you do that?" she asked, a crease forming between her eyebrows.

She could recall hundreds of family dinners where her father was driven to passion by one issue or another, and she'd always nodded her head, politely. She believed that because he was selfless, he couldn't be prejudiced, since the only point of negative stereotypes was to feed one's own sense of importance. Apparently, she'd be wrong. How many other prior offenses of this kind had he committed? "How could you assume you understand everything that goes on in the factions? You didn't even realize that Caleb and I planned to leave and we were right in your own home!"

"I will not be spoken to like that. I am your father!" he stormed, also rising.

"You're _acting_ like an Erudite!"

Both of them were breathing heavily, when a warm arm slipped around Tris's waist. _Tobias._ "Come on," he muttered over Andrew's sharp protests. "You need a breather."

Thankfully, Four didn't steer her far. There was an alcove about ten feet away where the staff kept extra chairs. She ignored the temptation to take one from the stack, and instead, sat on the floor, her back to the cavern wall, trying to get over what she'd just done.

"You didn't have to defend me like that," he said, quietly, when he sunk down beside her. It was almost as if he'd read her mind.

"You told me once that selflessness and strength come close to being the same thing," she explained, tilting her chin up. Strands of blond hair fell away from her shoulders and she woke up in a way that continued to posses him. "I wouldn't have yelled if he was attacking _my_ choice to join Dauntless, but he shouldn't take it out on you."

He nodded, understandingly. Scooting over some more so that his lips touched her forehead, the two of them stayed in that position for a long time.

"Do you think if we'd been in Abnegation, Mr. Prior would have liked me more?" Tobias asked, frowning. He didn't actually need her father's blessing, but he didn't welcome the idea of driving a wedge between her family either.

She shrugged, "Maybe." The truth was… she was pretty sure her dad would have approved, if only because he was Marcus's son. Who was to claim they would even be together in this alternate reality anyway…? But just picturing it otherwise caused her stomach to clench, painfully.

After several minutes of idle discussion- mostly about the initiates they were both expected to train- they realized they couldn't put the confrontation off any longer.

"- give that boy a chance-" They caught whispers of what her parents were saying as they approached the table, camouflaged by dozens of other people in black clothes. Four squeezed her hand in reassurance.

"He's hardly a boy, Natalie! Doesn't this place have any rules about how teachers are supposed to interact with students?" her father argued, but there was a reasonable tone in his voice that belied his words.

Her mother was softer, her sentences more indistinct. It sounded like: "- he's more- to your daughter- realize-"

When they were close enough to enter the halo of light from the table lamps, it was to find her mother still with her hands clasped, smiling encouragingly. Andrew's arms were crossed over his chest, making the usual loose uniform of the Abnegation seem almost to fit his still-impressive physique. The group of four stared at each-other for a while as Tris returned to her seat.

The silence pounded against her eardrums. Maybe she had been used to quiet once, but that was before the backdrop of her life including sparring, trips down the zip-line, Christina's or Will's or Tobias's sharp remarks. If this was meant to be a peace of sorts, it was transparent and fragile and prepared to break as soon as-

"Fine," her father huffed, leaning across the table. "Four, is it?" Tobias jerked his head in assent. "Tell me about yourself, Four. Something that proves you are not one of the hopeless adrenaline junkies I see around me." He grinned in a way that was almost a grimace, "Explain how this- relationship is going to work… when you were raised with none of Beatrice's same values and know nothing of the world she comes from? Hmmmm? Tell me _that_."


	3. Chapter 3

**IMPORTANT Author's Notes- As many of you are fans of my other story, "Deciphering Divergent" I thought I should mention that "Big Fan of Most Things" is threatening to have it deleted from this site if no immediate changes are made. I have yet to decide how I'm going to handle the situation, but I appreciate everyone's reviews and support.**

**Disclaimer- I do not own Divergent.**

Tobias was silent. Andrew leaned backwards in his chair with a look of satisfaction on his face that grew greater the longer the moment stretched out.

"Oh!" Natalie gave a gasp of surprise.

Tris turned to see her mother righting a fallen water glass. Even though she baked hundreds of muffins for the factionless with seeming ease, she had somehow managed to knock over all four of their cups with one brush of her grey-sleeved arm. Water overwhelmed the grooves in the wooden table-top and spread outwards.

Four pairs of hands instantly reached for the napkins.

Tris forgot herself in the rhythm of the work; she moved from the outside, in, soaking up water. Wasted napkins were placed in the center of the table, only to be switched out with new ones.

Without even acknowledging it, everyone got up and stepped to the left- in order to inspect their neighbor's efforts. The entire clean-up took about a minute.

"It didn't get on your clothes, did it Mom?" Tris asked, gathering up all the used rags and depositing them in the trashcan.

"No. Remarkably," she said, smoothing a strand of blonde hair back into her bun. She smiled at her daughter, before turning to her daughter's boyfriend.

"Thank you, Four. I'm sorry if my clumsiness inconvenienced you." It was the standard Abnegation reply to this type of situation, but there was an accompanying gleam in Natalie's eyes that hinted at something besides selflessness.

Tobias seemed to realize it too. "That was hardly an accident," he reported in a tone layered with several different emotions. "If there is one place you Priors _don't_ belong, it's Candor."

Natalie gave a kind smile. "Perhaps not. But I always tell my husband the truth when I feel it is important."

The implication was clear. Tobias took a deep breath and glanced over at Tris's father. He was shaking where he stood, the ruddy complexion of his cheeks caused by the recent shouting match had faded and he looked almost too-sober.

"What is the meaning of this?" he asked, hoarsely, looking from his wife to his daughter as if hoping they were both pulling a prank on him. It was something he had never wished for in the past. "You mean to tell me this hooligan is…?"

"Not here," Tobias said, abruptly. "If we're going to have this conversation, we should at least go to Tris's apartment."

He left without another word. The group had never gotten around to ordering, but Tris made sure to leave a tip as she, too, made her way towards the open cafeteria doors.

She had to jog a bit to catch up with Four. "I'm sorry," she murmured, wondering why she had thought this was a good idea in the first place.

"Don't be stupid, Tris," he said, grabbing her hand and squeezing slightly. "They were bound to figure it out eventually…. I'd prefer that it was a couple of years from now when we…." Tobias stopped, and let go of her hand. "The point is… you trust them. If I want things to work out, I should trust them too."

Tris hesitated, before inclining her head. It was his decision to make, just as it had been her choice to join him in training the initiates. They were Four and Six. They were partners.

It occurred to her that they were walking kind of fast. She paused in the middle of a narrow hall with wall-mounted lamps and a drinking fountain. Tris and Tobias got in the habit of coming this way because the area had not yet been set-up with security cameras. It turns out… she was worried for nothing. Her mother was escorting her father through the compound only a few paces behind them, their padded shoes soft on the rock floor.

Natalie caught her daughter's eye and nodded reassuringly. Tris faced front again, only to hear her mother tell Andrew something in a low voice.

The trip to her apartment seemed to take more time than usual, but, at last, she came to a familiar door. Tris picked the smaller of the two keys from a chain around her neck and carefully inserted it in the lock.

The lights came on automatically as she ushered everyone into the room. Tori had helped her paint a few ravens across her upper wall and ceiling, but besides that, everything was a stark white. Her bed had been placed in the far back corner, covered in black sheets, but they were arranged neatly enough that her father's disapproving stare flitted over them.

All in all, she had very little furniture. A desk she hardly ever used. A small bedside table where she kept her gun (currently hidden under her jacket). And a dresser- that was gaping open slightly, revealing the limited number of dark blouses and shirts that she kept there.

She expected Tobias to sit on the bed, as was his habit whenever he was there. Instead, he pulled the chair out from beside the desk and straddled it backwards.

"Enough stalling," Andrew stated, stabbing the air with his finger. "All of you have refused to give me a straight answer all day. No more." He had always been a big man, and confined to her tiny living quarters, he appeared even bigger.

"You want to know where I come from, is that it?" Tobias said, coldly, his sneakered-feet nestled into the cream-colored carpet.

"Yes! Yes! Quit playing smart with me," Andrew snapped, but in spite of his temper, Tris sensed that her father already had some suspicions… and was scared to hear them confirmed.

"Here, I am called Four," Tobias reiterated, slowly. "But… in a prior lifetime…," he looked at Tris like the strength of her gaze could pull the words he needed out of him. In an instant, it seemed he had found what he had been searching for. "Eaton," he spoke, just to her. "I am Tobias Eaton. And I was once Abnegation."


End file.
